(left), shown with Sam Rowen, is
launching a campaign to encourage
Jews to lose weight.
Rabbi Mendel Kastel, a Lubavitch movement member who is executive director of The Jewish House, a crisis center in Bondi, hopes to encourage 100 Aussie Jews to lose 10 kilograms — around 22 pounds — each.
The Jewish House will receive $1 from corporate sponsors for every kilo lost. “If you look at the 1,000 kilos it adds up to, it all helps,” Kastel, 40, told The Shmooze. “The response has been great. I’ve had people contacting me on my Facebook site and by text. People want to lose weight.”
Aussies Count Kosher Calories
(left), shown with Sam Rowen, is
launching a campaign to encourage
Jews to lose weight.
An American-born Australian rabbi is waging war on kosher calories by launching a campaign to shed pounds for charity.
Rabbi Mendel Kastel, a Lubavitch movement member who is executive director of The Jewish House, a crisis center in Bondi, hopes to encourage 100 Aussie Jews to lose 10 kilograms — around 22 pounds — each.
The Jewish House will receive $1 from corporate sponsors for every kilo lost. “If you look at the 1,000 kilos it adds up to, it all helps,” Kastel, 40, told The Shmooze. “The response has been great. I’ve had people contacting me on my Facebook site and by text. People want to lose weight.”
Kastel, who is also president of the Rabbinical Council of New South Wales, said he was inspired by the Australian version of the reality TV show “The Biggest Loser” (an American version of the show airs on NBC).
“My kids schlepped me in to watch the last [Australian] episode,” Kastel said. “Then there were the articles [in the newspaper] that we’re the fattest nation. I said, ‘That’s it; we’ve got to do something.’”
A report published by the Baker Heart Research Institute in Melbourne revealed last month that Australia had overtaken America as the fattest nation in the world: Four million Aussies — 26% of the adult population — are now obese, compared with an estimated 25% of Americans.
Kastel said that Jews were among the obese. Schmaltz, gefilte fish, cream cheese, bagels, matzo, doughnuts and the like are common culprits, he said.
“Moderation is the real issue. Today I had a wholemeal bagel and tuna instead of lox and cream cheese. You can still have latkes, but in moderation.”
Kastel has enrolled the winner of the Australian “The Biggest Loser,” Sam Rowen, who shed 70 kilos on the show, to help him launch the idea July 29. The duo is working on a soon-to-be unveiled Web site that will offer calorie conversions of kosher foods, kosher recipes, exercise plans and diet menus.
Kastel admitted that his project was rather unusual. “It’s a bit out there, but losing weight not only contributes to your physical health but to your emotional health.”
And he’s leading by example, having lost 6 kilos in the past five weeks.
TV
Nice idea, But why would you want everybody to know that you have a TV in you house?
Nice Going
Need e mail address or contact info for Rabbi Kastel. Am attempting to help obese person lose weight. This is amazing!!!
Anti loshon hara
TO TV your assumption that he has a TV is wrong he is a chasidisher yungerman and today everything is on Video and before trying to be Mevayesh someone berabim I sugest you find out and do some Teshuva and be ashamed of yourself
for nice going his email address is mendel@jewishhouse.org.au
Kop Doktar
TV wrote: “…why would you want everybody to know that you have a TV in you house?”
Interesting issue: Is it better to hide the TV in the closet and pretend not to have it, or to be open about it and not hide it?
There are pros and cons to both sides. Clearly TV has no problem if someone owns a tv, however he takes issue when the owner doesn’t hide it in the closet.
Not everyone subscribes to such a view. Indeed, there are dangers in pretending to be one thing but actually being someone else. Living with a “dirty secret” or a skelton in the closet cannot be healthy.
On the other hand, there is no denial that many people live such lives, and after a while, begin to think of it as “normal”.
A final thought – isn’t there a saying that those who speak against shluchim should have their tzitzis checked?
kastel supporter
great work mendel…..once again a brilliant idea you have come up with…good luck!!!
TV
To Anti loshon hara:
Before posting angry replies to comments, please read the comment in question carefully.
“Nice idea” -I gave a complimment
“But why would you want everybody to know that you have a TV in you house?” –
I was simply suggesting to him that since some Lubavitchers (and others) would have a problem watching (even a recording, or more likely a clip on youtube, which by the way a casual reader of the article would not assume) of a TV show, they might (disgustingly, if you ask me) talk bad etc.
Basicly my point was why give bored people reason to talk loshon hara?
I was most definitely not talking bad about a Shliach!
So maybe before trying to be Mevayesh someone berabim I sugest that YOU find out and do some Teshuva and be ashamed of yourself!
To Kop Doktor: Read the above. Nobody was talking against Shluchim. I was actually trying to help a Shliach!
Now in general, of course it doesn’t make sense to live a false life, but does everybody have to know all the little things that you don’t do exactly like they think you should do? should everybody have a daily blog on how many times he missed Shema on time???
P.S. If I helped a Shliach, Does that mean that I can skip checking my teffilin this Elul?